A New Order of Things

Coda is the perfect dog for our family. He is so gentle with the kids and pretty obedient to us. I attribute this to my choice of dog. I had read that you should not pick the alpha dog, so we chose Coda because he moved away from the food bowl to let his siblings eat. We made a good decision because he is so far from the alpha dog that I call him my omega dog. He is even a little scared of Jamie and Jonathan's 4-pound Yorkie.

But, we've hit a new low for him. For anyone that has been to our house, you know that Coda's place is on the middle step. Despite the fact that I make him move multiple times a day as I walk up and down the stairs, he chooses that place to sleep. I think it gives him a sense of security that he can watch the front and protect his family. Well, today, I caught Coda checking himself as he went to his favorite spot only to find it occupied by our 2-month old kitten. He looked at her and then just planted himself on a lower step to take in his watch of the front. It cracked me up. The kitten, Mittens by the way, wants desperately to play with Coda, but he just walks away. I'm hoping that they will one day get along because finding a playmate for Coda was part of my motivation for getting Rachel a kitten.

A close-up of Mittens. She is definitely well-loved!